Strictly Utilitarian or Valued for its Aesthetics?

Siding is the outer covering or cladding of a building meant to shed water and protect the interior from the effects of weather. Beyond the utilitarian pupose of siding, it may also act as a key element in the aesthetic beauty of a structure and directly impact its property value.

Siding materials have varied over the years and have included materials like: asbestos, aluminium, vinyl, hardboard composite, fibreglass, cement fiber, stucco, brick, stone, cindercrete block and wood, including cedar shingles (red or white), various types of log, horizontal clap board or weatherboard, vertical board-and-batten, fir beaded tongue-and-groove sheathing and shiplap. In this week’s column I would like to examine wood siding in more detail. Just as a note before we move on though, asbestos siding is not used any more and fiberglass and hardboard composite siding have been largely replaced with more modern siding like vinyl and cement fiber siding.

Cedar shingles

For years the wood from cedar trees has been prized for its beautiful colour, hardness, fragrance, and its resistance to insects, humidity and temperature. In North America, Western Red Cedar is found in British Columbia and throughout the Pacific Northwest in the United States. It is the largest growing cedar in North America and some can reach a diameter of 4.6 metres or more and a height of 61 metres.

When shingles are used as siding they can be applied in a variety of patterns: common coursing is when the width of the course or "weather" varied with the length of the shingle; shadow-line coursing is achieved by doubling each course, setting the outside shingle below the inside shingle, to create the shadow. This pattern, which was common during the 1920s and 1930s, also often employed shingles milled with vertical grooves; and unequal coursing which is associated with the North American Arts and Crafts style, this pattern was achieved by alternating a narrow and a wide course.

Clapboard

Clapboard siding is a type of siding made from wedge-shaped boards which are designed to overlap with each other. Historically, clapboard siding was made by splitting wooden boards into thin strips which could be nailed onto the side of a home to protect it from the weather. The overlapping design allowed the wood to expand and contract with changing weather, and it encouraged rain and snow to run off the side of the structure, rather than penetrating it and causing damage. The word “clapboard” comes from the Dutch klappen, which means “to split.”

When clapboard siding is applied, it is layered like shingles, with the thin side of each clapboard lying under the thick edge of the clapboard on top. Clapboard siding may also be referred to as bevel, lap, or weatherboard siding in various regions of the world.

In the image to the left, the upper part of the house has been finished with an “up down” shingle pattern and the lower part of the house has been made to replicate clapboard.